Great vegetable salad, from Javanese cuisine. It uses freshly grated coconut simmered with spices paste till the coconut soaked up the rich paste. Chilies and turmeric give the coconut that rich color. This dish is known as “Urap Sayur“ – urap refers to shredded coconut cooked with spices and sayur refers to vegetables.

The accompanying vegetables are usually blanched. For nice colors and presentation, use vegetables of all textures and colors. Leafy vegetables for greens, cucumbers and beansprouts for whites, carrots for orange. The other common condiments served are hard boiled eggs and tapioca-based white and red crackers.

If the coconut is thoroughly cooked for more than 15 minutes, the salad can last for more than one day, refrigerated. If not, it is meant to be consumed on the same day. It is advisable to not mix the vegetables and coconut before serving.

Mix a portion of all vegetables in a bowl, add 1/4 cup coconut and mix well with a fork and spoon. Serve with sliced cucumber, boiled eggs and steamed rice

Notes:
For 2 cups of vegetables, 1/4 cup of coconut would be the ideal amount
Decrease the amount of chilies called for if less hot urap is preferred
If freshly grated coconut is not available, use commercially packed shredded coconut and add 1/4 cup coconut cream to every 1 cup shredded coconut